Cinchona Tree

Calancha of Lima

,

Peru

, first wrote that a powder of cinchona “given as a beverage, cures the fevers and tertians.” By 1640, cinchona was used to treat fevers in Europe, a fact first mentioned in the European medical literature in 1643. The Jesuit fathers were the main importers and distributors of cinchona in Europe, hence the name Jesuit’s bark. Cinchona also was called Cardinal’s bark because it was sponsored in Rome by the eminent philosopher,

Cardinal de Lugo

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